Rests, hugging little child: or no little one, perhaps (7)
I believe the answer is:
litotes
'no little one perhaps' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'rests hugging little child' is the wordplay.
'rests' becomes 'lies' ('lie' can be a synonym of 'rest').
'hugging' indicates putting letters inside (outside letters hug or embrace inside letters).
'little child' becomes 'tot' (informal term for a young child).
'lies' going around 'tot' is 'LITOTES'.
'or' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for litotes that I've seen before include "Ironic figure of speech" , "No exaggeration" , "Ironical understatement (grammar)" , "Ironic understatement, like shan't be sorry" , "An ironic understatement about toilets" .)